Chapter 3 Bennett 2015 The First English Settlements

Chapter 3 Bennett 2015

The First English Settlements • England competed with other European countries for colonies in the Americas. • British set up colonies on the East Coast of North America.

England’s first colonies in the americas • Colonies provided new markets for British goods to be sold and gave them new natural resources (Columbian Exchange. ) • Started in the 1500 s.

Checkpoint- answer in notes • What benefit did the colonies in the Americas give the British?

Founding Jamestown • King of England granted a charter to the Virginia Company giving them land along the Atlantic Coast. • First colonists arrived in 1607 and set up the Jamestown Colony.

Struggles in Jamestown • Men did not want to do the farm work to grow crops. • Spent too much time searching for gold • Within just one year, only 38 of the original 100 settlers were still alive.

John Smith takes charge • Sent from London to take care of the colony • Firm leader with tough new rules. • “He who works not, eats not. ” • More people arrived and learned how to farm. • Smith led raids on Native American villages.

The Starving Time • Smith retuned to England in 1609. • Colony suffered without his leadership. • Ran out of food. • Fought with the Native Americans • By 1610, only 60 colonists were still alive.

Checkpoint question- Answer in your notes • Why did the settlers at Jamestown have difficulties at first?

Jamestown prospers • New leaders were sent from England to run the colony • Found a profitable crop that they could grow and ship back to England where they could sell it to other nations. • Tobacco

Jamestown government • House of Burgesses- representative government. • Representative government- government in which voters elect people to make laws for them. • First representative government in North America. • Started using slave labor from Africans brought to the Caribbean.

Checkpoint: • How did the House of Burgesses work?

Plymouth Colony • 1620 - A group of pilgrims boarded the Mayflower and set sail for the New World. • Landed in Massachusetts. Named their new colony Plymouth. • Signed the Mayflower Compact to set up laws and rules for the colony • Idea of self government would influence the future Constitution of the U. S.

First Thanksgiving • Chief Squanto showed pilgrims how to plant various crops. • Pilgrims gave “thanks” to Natives and held a feast.

Checkpoint Question • Why was the mayflower compact important?

Chapter 3, section 2 The New England Colonies

New England Geography • Consists of present day states: Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Maine. • Made up of hills and low mountains • Large areas covered by forests • Soil is rocky and thin • Near the coast, the coastline is rocky and jagged which makes it one of the best places to fish in the world.

Climate • Winters are long and snowy • Summers are short and mild • Climate helped colonists live longer in the Plymouth colony than they did in the Virginia colony because disease did not spread as rapidly.

Puritans in Massachusetts Bay • Disagreed with the Anglican Church (Church of England) • Wanted to reform the Church • King Charles I persecuted the Puritans and forced them to give up their jobs. • Many decided to leave England.

Puritan voyage to the Americas • In 1630, 900 set sail on 11 ships • Led by John Winthrop a respected lawyer • Established the Massachusetts Bay Colony. • Main town was Boston • By 1643, 20, 000 people settled there • Formed their own representative government • Only adult males living in the colony could vote. • Were not tolerant to other religions other than Puritanism • Others could not vote unless they were Puritans.

New colonies • Roger Williams founded the colony Providence • Believed that colonists should pay Native Americans for their land. • 1644, Rhode Island receives a charter from the king granting them the right to set up their own colony of Rhode Island. • Practice religious tolerance in the colony. • Allowed Jews to settle in Rhode Island.

Dissent with the Puritans • Anne Hutchinson disagreed with Puritans and left to establish a settlement in Rhode Island • Thomas Hooker disagreed and left to establish a colony in Connecticut. • John Wheelright established a colony in New Hampshire for the same reasons.

Growth and Change • Puritans governed their towns by using town meetings. • An assembly of townspeople who discussed local issues • Set taxes and established local rules. • Only male households were allowed to serve.

Economy • Built ships • Fished for cod • Grew crops • Made leather • Some farmed

New England shipbuilding

King Philips’ War • Wampanoag tribe was upset with the expansion of the colonies in New England. • Led by Chief Metacom (aka King Philip) native tribes attacked the settlers in 1676. • War lasted a year • Thousands were killed. • Natives were defeated and colonists could now expand further into native’s territory.

Puritan influence declines • Settlers began to focus less on religion and more on business. • Boston became a thriving town filled with merchants.